Tag Archives: air travel

US Flight Makes “Drifting, Bouncing” Landing In London

ABC News reports: An American Airlines flight was seen drifting, dipping and bouncing as its crew struggled to make a safe landing at Heathrow International Airport in London Wednesday morning. American Airlines flight 134 from LAX to Heathrow was hit with a strong cross wind at about 11:40 a.m. local time as it tried to make a safe landing on …

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Holiday Air Travelers See Fewest Delays In Five Years

The Hill reports: As Americans begin traveling for the holidays in numbers not seen in years, few airport delays have been reported so far. So far, 1.2 percent of U.S. flights have been canceled this year, the lowest cancellation rate in five years. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday that his department made improvements over the last year and applauded …

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Feds Fine Southwest Record $140M For 2022 Meltdown

The New York Times reports: The Transportation Department on Monday announced a $140 million fine against Southwest Airlines over a meltdown last winter that disrupted travel for about two million people during the holiday season. Of the $140 million, Southwest Airlines will pay $35 million to the federal government. For the remaining amount, the department is giving the airline credit …

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Christie’s Niece Charged In Drunken 2022 Flight Fight

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Just over a year after former New Jersey governor and presidential candidate Chris Christie’s niece, Shannon Epstein, was kicked off a flight at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and accused of drunkenly biting, kicking and spitting on deputies who tried to arrest her, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney Office formally filed charges against her …

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Alaska Airlines To Buy Hawaiian Airlines In $1.9B Deal

Bloomberg News reports: Alaska Air Group Inc. agreed to buy rival Hawaiian Holdings Inc. for $1.9 billion in cash and debt, challenging the Biden administration’s aggressive stance on mergers that has already derailed one partnership between carriers. Alaska will pay $18 per share in cash in a deal that includes about $900 million of Hawaiian’s debt, according to a statement …

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Christian Site: Woman Who Preached And Sang During Flight Was Helping Passenger “Possessed By Demons”

From the far-right Charisma News: A Frontier Airlines flight showed the reality of the spiritual realm when a woman began to scream and shout, flailing about with her arms up in the air. As people on the plane tried to get her to sit and calm down, another woman emerged who would end up being a light into the darkness. …

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Southwest Passenger Opens Emergency Exit And Flees

New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reports: The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said a man at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, allegedly escaped through the emergency hatch and ran out onto the tarmac Sunday night. The plane was still parked at the terminal and had yet to push back from the gate for takeoff. Witnesses told media that the …

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Eastern Storms Likely To Snarl Thanksgiving Travel

The New York Times reports: It’s going to be an unsettled lead-up to Thanksgiving in much of the eastern United States, as a large, moisture-loaded storm system sweeps across the region. The storm could slow air and ground transportation on Tuesday and Wednesday, two of the busiest travel days of the year. A storm system that is developing over the …

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Pilot Charged With Threatening To Shoot Flight Captain

NBC News reports: A California pilot has been indicted for threatening to shoot a flight’s captain if he diverted a flight due to a passenger medical issue. Jonathan J. Dunn was indicted on Oct. 18 for interfering with the crew of a commercial airline flight, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General said in a news release. …

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Federal Charges For Pilot In “Magic Mushrooms” Scare

From the Justice Department: An off-duty commercial airline pilot, who was arrested on Sunday after he attempted to shut down the engines of passenger plane in flight, has been charged in federal court. Joseph David Emerson, 44, of Pleasant Hill, California, has been charged by criminal complaint with one count of interfering with flight crew members and attendants. According to …

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Pilot Who Tried To Crash Plane: I Was On Mushrooms

The Guardian reports: An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut the engines on a regional jet mid-flight on Sunday told police after his arrest that he believed he was having a nervous breakdown, thought he was dreaming when he pulled fire handles in the cockpit, and that he had experimented with psychedelic mushrooms recently as his mental health …

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Off-Duty Pilot Charged With Attempt To Crash Plane

The New York Times reports: An off-duty pilot who was in a jump seat in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight has been charged with more than 80 counts of attempted murder after he tried to disrupt the engines during a flight on Sunday, prompting the plane to divert to Portland, Ore., the authorities said. Flight 2059, operated by …

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JetBlue Plane “Tips Backwards” At JFK Airport [VIDEO]

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: Passengers at JFK Airport had a scary experience Sunday night as the nose of a plane lifted upward toward the sky. The plane had just landed from Bridgetown, Barbados. Citizen app video shows the front of the plane lifted up, while the tail stayed on the ground. JetBlue says the plane tipped backwards because …

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Major Airlines Suspend Flights To Israel After Attack

Reuters reports: Major international air carriers have suspended or reined in flight services to or from Tel Aviv after a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend, saying they were waiting for safety conditions to improve. Israel’s national carrier El Al was the exception, adding more flights to bring reservists back from around the world to assist …

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Climate Change Forces Redesigning Of Major Airports

Bloomberg News reports: Airports around the world are relocating sensitive electrical equipment to rooftops to protect it from flooding, reinforcing runways to handle extreme temperature swings and revving up air conditioning as climate change complicates operations. In New York, the $19 billion redevelopment of John F. Kennedy International Airport includes preparing for more extreme weather events such as storm surges …

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Feds: United Passenger Attempted To Enter Cockpit

The Insider reports: A United Airlines passenger forced a flight to return to the gate after trying to enter the cockpit and opening the exit doors before takeoff on Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration and United Airlines told Insider that the incident happened Friday on United Airlines flight 1641 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. According to officials, the disruption occurred …

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11 Hospitalized After Severe Turbulence Over Atlanta

Atlanta’s NBC affiliate reports: Eleven people were hospitalized after a Delta flight landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the airline said. A flight from Milan, Italy to Atlanta “experienced severe turbulence” just before landing in Atlanta. According to records on FlightAware, the flight landed just before 7 p.m. Tuesday. Delta said the plane had 151 passengers and 14 crew aboard …

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Airline Fined $4.1M For Holding Fliers On Parked Planes

Courthouse News reports: The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined American Airlines $4.1 million for not letting 5,821 passengers on 43 flights get off the plane during lengthy delays. Officials announced the fine Monday through a consent order, ending the department’s investigation of flights from 2018 to 2021. “This is the latest action in our continued drive to enforce the …

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Spirit Airlines To Pay $8.25M Over “Surprise” Bag Fees

NBC News reports: Spirit Airlines has agreed to pay up to $8.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit by passengers who said the low-cost carrier blindsided them with surprise carry-on bag fees on tickets bought through third-party travel services. Lawyers for the passengers disclosed the deal in a motion late Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn and asked a …

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FAA Data: Airline Close Calls Are Increasingly Frequent

The New York Times reports: While there have been no major U.S. plane crashes in more than a decade, potentially dangerous incidents are occurring far more frequently than almost anyone realizes — a sign of what many insiders describe as a safety net under mounting stress. So far this year, close calls involving commercial airlines have been happening, on average, …

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